New State School Buffer Zone Rules: In January 2018, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) approved new rules to protect children at schools from agricultural pesticide drift.
- ~100 Sonoma County Schools are within 1/4 mile of agricultural pesticide use
- The new rules prohibit the use of fumigants and sprayed pesticides within 1/4 mile of a school during school hours
- Farmers must disclose to schools which pesticides may be used during the year
Press Democrat “Close to Home” Article
NEW DATA ON SONOMA COUNTY PESTICIDE USE NEAR SCHOOLS
We think the public has a right to know what chemicals may be drifting into children’s school yards.
Below are links to information from public records request that can help you determine whether agricultural pesticide use may be increasing toxic exposure at your child’s campus.
- List of Impacted Sonoma County Schools
- Find out whether your school of interest has pesticide use nearby
- Annual Notification of Pesticides Used Near Schools and Childcare Center
- Review the disclosures from nearby farms. (Note: Schools and farms are identified by a number. File format <“School”_”Farm”_”A”>. Full text within files is searchable from your computer’s search function, so if you search for a school, farm, or chemical name, that helps)
- Toxic pesticides commonly used near Sonoma County schools
- A list of the most toxic pesticides used in Sonoma County to use as reference when interpreting the Annual Notification files.
All farms that use pesticides within 1/4 mile of a school are required submit Annual Notification Plans (ANPs) that tell schools which chemicals may be used. We’ve compiled a is a list of Sonoma County Pesticides of Concern including the Pesticide Action Network’s “Bad Actor” Pesticides commonly used by farms in Sonoma County. If you see that any of these pesticides are being used near your school, further discussion with your school community and neighboring farms may be warranted. The Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner’s office can help mediate discussions between your school and neighboring farms.
The California Environmental Health Tracking Program has a great resource with statewide pesticide use data on a color-coded map. Though the majority of applied pesticides in our county are sulfur, mineral oil, and adjuvants/surfactants (chemicals that help pesticides work better), large quantities of “Bad Actor” pesticides are also being used. This map provides relative indicators of the use of “Bad Actor” pesticides and other Pesticides of Concern.
http://cehtp.org/page/pesticides/agricultural_pesticide_use_in_california
Support Organic!
Vineyards make up the majority of Sonoma County farms and the majority of farms using pesticides next to schools. Only 2% of our County’s vineyards are certified organic, while 85% of apple orchards and 80% of dairies in Sonoma County are organic. Click Here for a list of Sonoma County’s 100% organic and partially organic vineyards. For more information on organic wine in our region, and for the “Top 10: Organic Vineyards in Sonoma by Size“, check out Organic Wines Uncorked. Go local and support our good neighbors.
